Design Classics: Checkered Floors

As these homeowners know, you can never go wrong with a classic checkered floor. What other design works just as well in a diner as it does in a grand hall?

Often seen in the kitchen or bathroom, a checkered floor can also glam it up with a glossy finish in a statement entryway or tone it down in a muted bedroom. Mixing up the color, scale and materials creates endless variations on the original black and white. After all, any pattern that works in both the Uffizi gallery in Florence and the Simpsons' cartoon kitchen has to be called a classic.